Martial Arts Prodigy Strikes Again: A Visit to the Three Great Sects

How could Lin Hanzhou fail to see through the little schemes of the three great sects?

Were they waiting for his lifespan to run out so he would die of old age?

"Heh. That's a fine idea, but unfortunately, you won't live to see that day."

Deep within the imperial palace, inside the Great Gan Treasury.

Lin Hanzhou sat cross-legged. He slowly opened his eyes, the corner of his mouth curling into a chilly smile.

Several years had passed since he slew two Grandmasters in the Capital City.

During that time, he had used the vast quantities of rare treasures in the imperial treasury to barely make up for the blood essence he had lost.

As for the years he had lost from his lifespan, there was temporarily no way to replenish them.

After all, rare treasures capable of extending one's lifespan were extraordinarily scarce.

Even in the Blue Star world, treasures that could extend one's lifespan were worth a fortune.

Still, Lin Hanzhou had never planned to rely on rare treasures to replenish his lifespan.

When he burned years off his life, he had already planned out the path ahead.

Over the past few months, with the imperial family's abundant resources and the rich spiritual energy in his surroundings, his cultivation had surged to the fourth level of the third tier.

He estimated that it would take him no more than twenty years to reach the peak of the third tier.

This astonishing rate of cultivation was precisely why he had been willing to burn fifty years of his lifespan to protect the Capital City.

Fifty years of life in exchange for such a comfortable cultivation environment was entirely worth it.

What was more, there were also vast numbers of cultivation manuals and texts here, which he could use to develop his Martial Arts Prodigy talent.

Over the years, thanks to his Martial Arts Prodigy talent, he had also trained his replacement movement techniques and martial skills to the great mastery level.

It was worth noting that even the Grandmasters of this world had only just managed to train their movement techniques and martial skills to great mastery.

With this, Lin Hanzhou had caught up with nearly a century of their cultivation.

And not only would he catch up—he would surpass them.

It would only take a few years for his movement techniques and martial skills to reach perfection.

Besides that, Lin Hanzhou had discovered a new use for his Martial Arts Prodigy talent.

It could improve not only movement techniques and martial skills, but cultivation methods as well.

He hadn't discovered this ability before simply because he had consulted too few cultivation methods, leaving his knowledge base insufficient.

But after reading through the many cultivation methods in the imperial palace, he gained a new understanding of the Luo Heaven Art.

After fine-tuning and improving it, he had considerably increased the speed at which he absorbed spiritual energy while practicing the Luo Heaven Art.

The most obvious proof was that his cultivation had reached the fourth level of the third tier. Without the improved method, he would certainly be one level lower.

His strength had also grown by more than a single level since the battle in the Capital City.

If he faced those two Grandmasters again, he wouldn't need a forbidden technique at all. He could kill them like dogs with ease.

Lin Hanzhou knew it was time to pay the three great sects a visit.

He wasn't just going to put them in their place; he was also very interested in the cultivation methods passed down by the three great sects.

He didn't notify anyone, not even Empress Li Yue Chan.

He left the Capital City alone, without a sound.

His first stop was the Cloud Glow Sect—the closest to the Capital City, and the sect that had once placed a bounty on him.

Cloud Glow Mountain was wreathed in mist, just as it always had been.

Dressed in black, Lin Hanzhou strolled up the stone steps to the Cloud Glow Sect's gate.

Just then, the disciples guarding the mountain immediately stopped him.

"Who goes there? This is the Cloud Glow Sect's sacred grounds. All outsiders, leave at once!"

Lin Hanzhou ignored them and simply released the full force of his Qi Sea Realm aura.

Boom—!

An immense, invisible pressure instantly enveloped all of Cloud Glow Mountain.

The few disciples guarding the mountain didn't even have time to cry out.

The pressure crushed them to their knees, blood spraying from their mouths as they lay unable to move.

"What expert has come to the Cloud Glow Sect?!"

Several powerful auras shot into the sky from deep within the Cloud Glow Sect.

The sect master and several elders transformed into streaks of light and appeared at the mountain gate.

When they saw Lin Hanzhou's familiar, youthful face, their expressions all changed.

It was obvious that they recognized him: the Protector Grand Master who was currently the talk of the town.

"W-We didn't know the State Preceptor would be visiting. May I ask what brings you here?"

The Cloud Glow Sect's sect master forced down his shock, stepped forward, and bowed with a stiff smile.

"Nothing major. I've hit a few bottlenecks in my cultivation lately."

"I hear the Cloud Glow Sect has a thousand-year legacy and deep reserves."

"I've come to borrow the texts in your Scripture Pavilion, so I can broaden my understanding."

Lin Hanzhou's gaze swept over them as he spoke in an even tone.

"What?!"

At his words, all the Cloud Glow Sect's senior members flew into a rage.

The Scripture Pavilion!

It was the heart and foundation of any sect's legacy!

How could they let an outsider browse such core secrets at will?!

This was simply too much.

"State Preceptor, isn't that asking a bit too much of us?"

One of the Cloud Glow Sect's elders spoke in a low voice.

"The cultivation methods and texts of the Cloud Glow Sect are never shared with outsiders. This is—"

Before he could finish speaking,

Lin Hanzhou vanished from where he stood.

In the next instant, he appeared before the elder, casually grabbing him by the throat,

then lifting him up like a chicken.

"I'm not discussing this with you. I'm informing you."

Lin Hanzhou's gaze was cold, and his voice carried not a trace of emotion.

He casually tossed aside the elder, who was already scared out of his wits.

Then he swept his gaze across all the Cloud Glow Sect's experts, who were both shocked and furious, and slowly spoke.

"If you refuse, I hope your sect gate can withstand me."

He stood before the Cloud Glow Sect's gate with the air of someone ready to fight to the death.

It was a blatant ploy.

Would the Cloud Glow Sect gather the strength of the entire sect to fight him?

Or would they swallow their humiliation, open the Scripture Pavilion, and let him browse as he pleased?

Either choice would cost Lin Hanzhou nothing.

"I... The Cloud Glow Sect is willing to open its doors to the State Preceptor."

In the end, after an agonizing and humiliating struggle, the sect master forced the words out through clenched teeth.

In the face of absolute strength, all dignity was utterly worthless.

He could imagine what would happen if he refused: the Cloud Glow Sect would be drenched in blood before the day was out.

The White-Haired Sword Saint had carved out his fearsome reputation through the ranks of a hundred thousand cavalry.

Over the next month, Lin Hanzhou repeated the same routine.

He used the same approach to visit the Vajra Temple, famed for its body-tempering arts, and the Emotionless Gate, renowned for its Dao Heart.

Without exception, once they witnessed his overwhelming, terrifying strength, both sects could only choose to yield.

They opened the doors to their most secret Scripture Pavilions in humiliation and let Lin Hanzhou enter.

A month later, carrying nearly a thousand years' worth of martial arts texts from the three great sects, Lin Hanzhou returned to the Capital City, satisfied, and announced that he was going into seclusion once again.

As for the three great sects, this incident left them utterly disgraced. The prestige they had built over centuries was wiped away in a single day.

They completely lost the confidence and will to stand against the imperial court.

From then on, no voice in the martial world could challenge imperial authority.